Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 28

The idea blossoms in Chrissy's mind halfway through the movie she and Eddie are watching, curled up against each other on the couch. Despite the warmth of Eddie's embrace, the cold spit of her mother's venom keeps seeping through her mind. She hates that she can't get rid of it, that a part of her believes all the mean things her mother is saying and this got her thinking...

She sits up straight, her skin shivering from the loss of heat, and looks Eddie dead in the eyes. "I want to try something."

He tenses, turns to her with a mix of surprise and something else.

"I think I can lure Vecna into attacking me."

Her head is a mess tonight, she'd be such an easy target Vecna wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.

Eddie's surprise morphs into terror and he grabs her shoulders. "You- what?!"

She puts her hands on his chest to try and calm him.

"Just hear me out. It's going to happen anyway. As far as we know, Max and I are its targets and if there's a way I can give her one more day without that freak inside her head, I'll do it! Besides, if it works, we can use that against Vecna. We can use that as a distraction while Steve-"

"Harrington will have to walk over my dead body before he uses you as bait!"

"Eddie, please."

"No! I'm not letting you deliberately throw yourself at a killer!"

"What if it's not your decision to make," she says a little more harshly than she intended.

Eddie freezes, then stands up and starts pacing, his hands flying all around him as she speaks.

"You don't know what it's like, watching you in that trance, completely useless. Hoping some stupid song will save you from crumbling on yourself."

Chrissy slumps. She never thought about that. About how Eddie felt.

"I'm sorry..."

He sighs and sits back on the couch, head buried in his face. She wraps her arm around his waist and rests her chin on his shoulder.

"You're not useless, though."

He huffs.

"And it's not about the song. It's about music unlocking the good memories."

She presses a kiss through his hair.

"You are my good memories, Eddie."

*

Eddie's breath gets caught in his throat. It's the second time of the evening Chrissy's words hit him straight in the heart, as hard as if she told him she loves him. All the more reasons for him to be scared shitless at the idea of putting her in danger.

"Listen," she says, "you can start playing the music as soon as the trance begins. I just want to know if I can do it. Give it a taste of its own trick."

"I don't like it, Chris."

Even though everything she says makes sense, even though he knows she's right when she says this could give them a huge advantage over Vecna. And of course he doesn't want Red to be attacked neither but...he's still terrified. Such a wimp! When Chrissy proves once again to be one of the bravest women he met.

"Please...It's the first time I can actually turn my breakdown into something that matters. But I need to know you're with me on this."

He sighs heavily, presses his finger into his teary eyes and turns to face her. He can tell she's scared too, but that she's ready to fight. Determined, fierce, so fucking gorgeous. He finds himself at a loss of words. He wants to hug her, to kiss her, but his body won't move. He's going to need one hell of a joint to calm his nerves after that!

"Alright. Let me get that damn Billy Joel tape, then."

*

Chrissy takes a deep breath. They're all set. Eddie stands by the tape player, staring at her anxiously with his finger drumming on the stereo, ready to hit play. She closes her eyes to try and push away the reassuring feeling his presence has on her. To forget how the concern on his face makes her feel important and...loved. She needs to keep this for later.

It doesn't take much for her to slip back into the swarming waters of guilt and shame. She only needs to picture herself coming home, to picture her mother in one of her uptight skirt suits and perfect hairdo, pursing her lips as Chrissy walks in. Everything from her new hair color to these last days bad diet gets pointed at. And of course, Eddie...

The words are so mean they feel like stabbing. Especially when her inner voice points out that maybe if Chrissy can imagine so easily her mother saying them, it's because part of her believes they are somewhat true. The self-hatred that takes over her is so sickening she only notices the tolling on the last chime.

The room goes darker, the air heavier. She opens her eyes and finds Eddie standing in front of her, staring at her with a disgusted wince. She realizes she's only wearing the black cotton panties and even though she knows this isn't real, her heart sinks. She tries to cover herself with a blanket lying on the couch, but the harm is done. He's seen her ugly body - well, he hasn't yet, but he might at some point and he could react like that.

It all mixes up in her head, vision-Eddie, real-Eddie, and she starts questioning how sincere he is. How much he cares about her shapes. If he'd still call her hot if he saw her like that. It gets so overwhelming she wants to scream. She turns heels and runs toward the bathroom, knowing fairly well locking herself in won't stop Vecna.

"This isn't real", she says out loud.

The door won't open, no matter how hard she tries.

"This isn't real," she shouts, hitting the door with the flat of her hands.

"You're right, Chrissy," says a distorted version of Eddie's voice. "My love isn't real."

She turns to face the monster walking toward her, still vaguely resembling Eddie.

"Liar!"

"Who could love you anyway?"

"Liar," she repeats at the top of her lungs before bolting toward the bedroom door. She knows better. She knows Eddie better than that! He cares. He cares!

She swings the door shut behind her and gasps when she realizes she's not in Rick's bedroom but in Eddie's. Everything is there. The guitar with the 'This machine slays dragons' inscription, the posters on the wall, the bottle of black nail polish. The atmosphere feels lighter, peaceful. Like she's home. Her body relaxes a little. She grabs the tiny bottle and turns it in her fingers before pressing it onto her heart as she sits on the bed.

Eddie cares for her. Any moment now, she's going to hear the music and he'll be there, staring at her with his eyes wide with concern, waiting for her to wake up. And she'll kiss him and he'll kiss her back because he cares. This is what is true. She won't let Vecan stain it.

A ray of sun comes in through the window as the chorus of Uptown girl starts playing in the far. The room gets lighter and lighter until it vanishes and she's back in the living room, with Eddie rushing toward her, eyes wide, hands grasping her shoulders. She lets out something that might be a sob, might be a laugh.

"You okay," he asks with a tremor in his voice, cupping her face.

She pulls at the hem of his shirt and kisses him, even though she's a little short of breath. He kisses her back, passionate– the walkie crackles and Steve's voice breaks the charm.

"Something happened! Max, you alright? Chrissy?"